Remember those stories about your grandmother not being allowed to vote oropen her own bank account?

That is all in the past, right?

No! No, it is NOT!

An administrator here at The Women's College Seminary contemplated changing her automotive insurance from Geico to the heavily-advertised 21st Century company.

All was going well during the application process until the company representative insisted that the policy must be in her husband's name!

She told the company that her husband had his own car with his own insurance and that he would not bedriving her vehicle, but she was told that it is company policy that ALL policies of married couples MUST bein the husband's name ... not in the name of the wife.

No exceptions.

This is only one of the pervasive issues involving treatment of women that the women of today will have to address in order that our daughters may enjoy true equality in the future.

SaintJamesCollege Seminary

DISCLOSURE: Most seminaries throughout the world tend to betheologically, politically, and socially conservative.

Saint James College Seminary followsthe ancient teachings of Paul of Tarsus, who said:"Be all things to all people."

Over the years, a steadily-increasing number of people have asked us to provide a safe haven for those who

think progressively, particularly in the arenas of social justice, women's rights, and community development. The Human Affairs Program is such a safe home base. Our goal is to provide a platform from which to work to help cure the ills of our troubled world.

Dear Saint James College Seminary,You position yourself as a school for adult learners. Well, many of us are Baby Boomers who lived through the enervating social and political awakening of the 60's and 70's. During the "Hippie Years", I was associated with a world-shaking program at Cornell University called The Human Affairs Program. While there was plenty to be angry about, it was also a time when a tantalizing doorway in time and space opened permitting the lovely seeds of peace and love to be sown. Truthfully, we still believe that these are worth working toward. Please offer a program re-dedicated to this purpose. Our planet could certainly use some Flower Children today!Respectfully,Ruth Ann Giles, MD

Our Ancestor HAP and the reason that why the things thatoccurred back then continue to be important to us today:

On April 19th, 1969, a large group of students marched into CornellUniversity's Willard Straight Hall, evicted virtually everyone who was inside,and took complete possession of the building. While the participants insistedthat no weapons were carried in, when the occupancy ended, photographersrecorded numerous students marching forth holding up rifles and wearingbandoleers of bullets across their chests. Participants later denied that anyweapons were present while seizing the hall, insisting that guns andknives were smuggled in later.

Because the occupiers were African-American, the terrified white universitytrustees quickly established a number of programs designed to defuse thepotential for more outbreaks. Among other things, a black-onlydormitory/living center, Ujamaa Hall, was opened.

But, soon, the idea of "sit-in's", building occupations, and massive marches began to become prevalent all across the United States, and abroad. Within a matter of weeks following the take-over of "The Straight", demonstrations and occupations spread to campuses such as Princeton, Dartmouth, Tulane, Howard, and Princeton.

These protests expanded from being expressions of racial inequity into loud, often violent (when the police moved in)demonstrationsagainst manyforms of injustice.Prominentamong those werethe burgeoning"FeministRevolution" andthe growingpublic outcryagainst theVietnam War.

________________________________________________________

The founding of the original Human Affairs Program

In 1969, HAP was founded. Some skeptics said that it was nothing more than a transparent attempt to placate "the radicals" by establishing something that had the outward trappings of "relevant education". But, that is exactly what the Human Affairs Program of 1969 did...offer education relevant to the times...and is what we, the respectful founders of its namesake, are committed to accomplishing today.

The original HAP played a role in helping to launch The Women's Movement with such luminaries as Lin Farley, Susan Meyer, Karen Saugivne, recruited from the Radical Feminist organization. Also joining the team was Bunny Sherman, who headed the program's Women's Studies section. (At HAP, what would have been a small department elsewhere in the university was more humbly called a Section).

And, the program was needed. Lin was evicted from her apartment after the local newspaper declared her to be “Cornell’s first out lesbian professor.”

In 1975, Lin, Karen, and Susan organized a "Speak Out" at Cornell. Among the topics was the (unfortunately too-believable) story Carmita Wood,a laboratory worker at the university who resigned her position because amale scientist engaged in an ongoing practice of making sexual advancestowards her. These included simulating masturbation and groping underWood's sweater. Ultimately, Wood quit her job and sought unemploymentbenefits but was turned down because both the unemployment insurancereviews board and the New York State Department of Labor refused Wood'sapplication for the unemployment insurance that she had already pre-paidinto an account. They said that she had other options besides quitting andthat, in their view, she resigned "for other personal reasons."

At that pioneering Speak Out, the women who attended were provided withthe names and contact information of women attorney's who would help the many, many, many others who suffered sexual harassment (a term, by the way, popularized by Lin Farley's book, Sexual Shakedown: The Sexual Harassment of Women on the Job. (Available at Amazon.)

The director of the old Human Affairs Program was Dan Leahy (although called "director" within the program, he handled the same general responsibilities that a dean would in a similar program that had "college" status). Dan and the others within HAP decided to take a step that was long a well-kept secret: the program would hire a lawyer and give her or him a faculty position, but she or he would also act as an advisor in terms of assisting women such as Carmita Wood in bringing lawsuits against the perpetrators of sexual harassment and abuse. A calm, centered, and dedicated attorney, Larry Reverby was invited to join the team.

Others at HAP were Ben Erlitz who headed an program aimed at doing urban planning based on people's needs,not those of the government, the banks, design and construction firms that had traditionally profited from urban renewal. (Today, Ben is an attorney who practices law in Atlanta) -- Tonya Yuldeson developed a prisoners' rights group -- Tom Height followed Ben in directing The Psychology of Community Development section which was designed to use state and federal monies to redevelop cities and towns to meet the needs of their people instead of institutions -- Jim Schmidt headed The People's Power Coalition that worked to break the immense power of electric utilities by striving to establish local community-owned municipal power companies -- Nancy Bereano taught dynamics of group conflict and allocation of power -- Larry Reverby now practices law in Trumansburg, NY.

There were so many others but, after all these decades, many of their names and people-assisting specialties have become confused by the mists of time. If you can help to fill in the gaps, please Email Us.

Saint James College Seminary is a not-for-profit educational program. All photos used are believed to be in the public domain. Peace symbol and fist credit: Wally Wayne Zampa at the AOUNIN archive.jpg. Button courtesy of buttonland.com. Chicago convention photo from america.gov

Things for which the first Human Affairs Programstood that we support and are continuing....

HAP director Dan Leahy wrote: "The program began in 1969 to combine active learning and concrete involvement with poor and working people.... The program emphasizes three goals:learning through active problem-solving, the assistance of low-income people and organizations with the problems they face, and the constant examination of education and the role of the highly-educated in the struggle for social justice.

The Section Leader (head of small department focusing on aparticular academic discipline) is responsible for ... the designand supervision of field study projects, the development andmaintenance of links with the community and/or labororganizations...researching new areas in which to serve." (Does Anyone know Dan's location? We would like to contact him.)

The students were both graduate and undergraduates. The HAP program offered six full credit hours per semester...and the student was expected to generate significant communityservice through weekly classroom seminars combined withenergized field study projects.

We do essentially the same thing, although we have a somewhat different world today. As Bob Dylan wrote,The times they are a-changin'.

Our Human Affairs Program educates its students through: 1) weekly online sessions with their professor2) and they contribute to their communities with energized field study projects such as diversity, inclusion, or social justice!

This is the Human Affair's Program's second incarnation

We are a late-blooming "spin-off" of a politically,culturally, and educationally important progressive program operated by Cornell University from 1969-1976. As the political climate in the United States became increasingly conservative, theUniversity felt secure in simply closing itdown and dispersing the faculty.

What is Social Justice? Generally, the concept springs from the writings and beliefs of Jesuit priest Luigi Taparelli in the mid-1800's and was a refining of precepts of equality taught by St. Thomas Aquinas. Today, it is most often associated with the Roman Catholic and Episcopalian/Anglican communions (and also with our parent organization, The Love Church Worldwide).

Because "Social Justice" is a spiritual prerogative, it is obligatory that a responsible seminary offer a comprehensive program in the field.

DEFINITION: Social Justice is variously described as an enterprise or mission whose aim is the creation of a society that offers its citizens a life of equality, solidarity, and representative governance. This society recognizes, defends, and applauds the human rights, individuality, and dignity of all.________________________________________________________________________________________________

The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action offers another definitive view of Social Justice, saying that:

"Human rights education should include peace, democracy, development and social justice, as set forth in international and regional human rights instruments, in order to achieve common understanding and awareness with a view to strengthening universal commitment to human rights."

> Introduction to Social Justice Program, Lessons to be Learned, Experience to be Gained...and Community Service to be Provided

> Power and Its Ability to Define Social Environment

> Types of Social Circumstances:This module examines the manifestations of Social Justice and Social Injustice prevalent in society, including: economic (including poverty and the dissolution of the Middle Class), jobs, professions, unions, gender issues (LGBT), racial/national origin, religious/cultural background, law enforcement, environmental, political.

> What IS Political? HAP examines the following precept:"The people who have the most control over us were generally not elected. They were appointed bypeople who also were not elected. Unelected people appointing each other to positions whereby theyhave life-and-death power over us."

> Campaigns and the Electoral Process: Promises vs. what is actually delivered by politicians afterthe election

> Knowledge Resources: Open government, availability of official documents and procedures, high-speed internet

> Equitable Availability and Distribution of Community / Governmental Resources and Services

> Racial Equity Study:Disproportionate representation of minorities in military, menial jobs, prisons and under-represented in positions of corporate and governmental authority, educational, medical, and other leadership> Educational Equity> Workplace Justice: Role of Unions, Unions Under Attack, Gender Neutrality, End of "Glass Ceiling"

> Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice inequities, ability of various socio-economic groups to obtain fair treatment by law enforcement and the courts.

> Incarceration Studies: This brief module examines the world-leaDing American incarceration rate, racial and socio-economic imbalances among the prison population, and the prison system as an economic development tool

> The Role of Religion in Social Justice: Conservative churches and religions vs. Progressive, inclusive churches, temples, and religions

> The Role Played by Social Workers and Psychology in development of societal equity

> Disparity Between Official Government Policies and "Street" Injustices: Examination of "The Rodney King Syndrome", real-life treatment of economically and educationally disadvantaged citizens, LGBT, physically and mentally handicapped

> Homelessness: Historical and contemporary growth of a homeless population

> Grassroots Organization

> The Arts and Activism

> The Environmental Paradox:

Students examine "The World Is Flat and There's No Global Warming" stance to the other end of the spectrum through growing societal awareness of Environmental Issues through ecoomic/corporate compliance, government Environmental Policy, competing and often at-odds regulatory agencies

> The Media's Influence on Social Justice: The disparity between Fox News and MSNBC, between TheWall Street Journal (owned by arch conservative Rudolph Murdock) and the liberal Huffington Post, and localmedia outlets

> Pluralism: Is it practical to work for peoples of diverse races, cultures, religions, etc., to live side-by-side?

> The effect of Social Networking: How Facebook impacts contemporary social outlook, influences political change or stagnation, and its effect on global issues such as changes in national govern national governments, challenges to dictatorships

> Non-profit Organizations: Their role and management of NGOs, missions, Social Action, and Social Justice Charitable Agencies

> Public interest law and advocacy> Social Policy, Social Service, Social Justice Research

> The Social Safety Net: Medical coverage for ordinary people, threats to Medicare and Social Security, Universal Health Care: The U.S. vs. Other Developed Nations

> Establishment of Programs and Program Delivery

> Community Project or Practicum

> For Degree Students: there will be a faculty-assisted THESIS, DISSERTATION, or PROJECT

CURRICULUM

Without Social Justicefor all, we forfeit ourright to be consideredenlightened creatures

So-called "liberated" women burned bras. While this was an important symbol of release, it also sprang from hundreds of generations of women's hearts, minds, wills, and bodies, being constricted by men. The bottled-up rage was real.

Women were often ridiculed at the height of the early phases of the movement and, amazingly, continue to be so today. Witness Rush Limbaugh referring to women's quest for equality as Femi-nazis.

Women and the Glass Ceiling: Women were then -- and remain -- relegated to lower rungs in professional life than men, with notably lower salaries for doing the same work. Women were -- and are -- shockingly under represented in top corporate and governmental positions.

Anger of Ordinary People:Blue collar as well as rank-and-file union workers found themselves suddenly but were afterwards left to face the cold reality that, once again, again, the the promises that were made to them went largely unfulfilled.

Among a large cross-section of American life, there

was growing and intense anger about the futility of theVietnam War. While many in government, ordinarycitizens, and even a substantial number of militarypeople publicly objected to the war, it had vehementsupporters. And, the "pro-war people" detested,ridiculed and, occasionally physically attacked the"anti-war people" who were regularly portrayed asbeing "anti-American draft dodgers".

The Catonsville Nine: Appalled at the carnage in the

Vietnam War (which included burning the occupants ofvillages alive with napalm), on May 17th, 1968, RomanCatholic priests Daniel and Philip Berrigan andseven other anti-war activists broke into a draft boardin Catonsville, MD. They removed 378 draft records,brought them outside, and set them on fire with homemade napalm. An evocative quote floats down to us through the years: "Our apologies, good friends, for the fracture of good order, the burning of paper instead of children...." It was our pleasure to know Father Berrigan during his years as a chaplain at Cornell.If you feel as your peace-loving predecessors did, you are welcome to enroll in today'sHuman Affairs Program, majoring in Peace Studies and Spirituality.

The 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago was marred by

persecution and violence that many thought possible only in the then-Soviet Union or in a Third World dictatorship. The anger was so prevalentthat year that there were riots in over 100 cities. Dr. Martin Luther Kingwas assassinated in April of that year, followed in June by the shooting of Senator Robert F. Kennedy.

The shootings of anti-war protesters at Kent State University (also

known as the May 4 massacre or Kent State massacre) aroused andsustained the anger of students, anti-war activists, and ordinary people. The National Guardsman fired 67-rounds of ammunition in 13-seconds atunarmed students, leaving four dead and nine others injured. One of thestudents who was shot sustained permanent paralysis as a result. Thetragic events occurred on Monday, May 4, 1970.

There was -- and is -- anger in the LGBT community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender). This program has numerous reports of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgender persons being harassed in public places, spat upon, beaten, discriminated upon in the marketplace, and murdered. Today, we have conservative American Christians actually pro-actively pushing for imprisonment and even execution of LGBT citizens in the 37 African nations that currently permit this "punishment". LGBT community members simply want to live their lives as any other person would have the freedom to do.

On August 26th, 1971, Congresswoman Bella Abzug obtained approval of the House of Representatives and the Senate to establish a Women's Equality Day. Congress enacted these words, among others: "WHEREAS, the women of the United States have been treated as second-class citizens and have not been entitled the full rights and privileges, public or private, legal or institutional, which are available to male citizens of the United States...." The anger has continued because, clearly, there is no gender equality even today.